FORT SMITH, Ark. - Despite falling behind early in the match, the Henderson State volleyball team responded against Newman on Friday afternoon, winning three sets in a row to defeat the Jets 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-12, 29-27) at the Carr Racop Invitational.
SET ONE: Newman opened the match by taking a quick 12-5 lead to start the first set. The Jets then extended their lead out to 20-10 to take complete control. Henderson was able to eventually whittle the lead down under 10 points, but Newman finished things off to win it 25-17 and take the 1-0 lead early.
SET TWO: The second frame was tight through the first 12 points, but with the score tied 6-6, the Jets opened up a 9-3 run to take the lead 15-9 and put the Reddies on the verge of going down 2-0 in the match. Needing to respond, Henderson did just that, answering Newman's spurt with a 10-2 run of its own to go up 19-17. The Reddies extended their lead out to 23-20 and looked poised to tie the match, but the Jets had one last burst in them, taking three-straight points to tie things at 23-23 and put the pressure back on HSU. The pressure did not phase the Reddies, as back-to-back kills from Violet Williams and Courtney Bolf ended the set in Henderson's favor, 25-23, and tied the match, 1-1. Williams and Bolf each had five kills in the set to lead the Reddies.
SET THREE: Riding the wave of momentum from their big second set win, the Reddies were firing on all cylinders in the pivotal third set. In what was initially a close battle, with the score 8-6 in Henderson's favor, the Reddies broke things open, ripping off a huge 17-6 run to close the set out 25-12 and take the lead in the match, 2-1. Bolf had four kills in the period for HSU.
SET FOUR: The fourth set proved to be close throughout, as the two teams traded the first 22 points to knot the score at 11-11. With things tied, the Reddies began to get some separation, as they won four-straight points to grab the biggest lead of the set, 15-11, and then extended it out to 19-13 to push the Jets to the brink. With its back against the wall, Newman began to rally, winning seven of the next nine points to close the gap to 21-20. Big kills from Bolf and Kamra Jackson helped the Reddies stay in front, as they pushed their lead out to 24-22 to grab match-point. The Jets refused to go away, though, as they took the next two points to tie it up and then took the lead 26-25 to seize a match-point of their own. Down a point, Bolf came through for Henderson, as she tied it back up with a kill. After the teams traded points to make it 27-27, Bolf got in on a block with Adrianna Hartmann to regain the lead, 28-27. Faced with match-point once again, the Reddies turned to Bolf and she delivered, coming through with the winning kill to claim the set 29-27 and the match 3-1 for Henderson. Bolf was huge down the stretch for the Reddies, coming up with four kills and a block assist to account for five of Henderson's final six points in the set.
Game Notes: Bolf had a big game for the Reddies, going for a double-double with 19 kills and 15 digs. Setter Sariah Boney added a double-double of her own with 27 assists and 12 digs. Violet Williams notched double figure kills for Henderson with 10, while freshman Delaney Price led the team in digs with 23. The win moves HSU to 6-4 on the year and 1-1 in the Carr Racop Invitational.
Up Next: The Reddies plat two games tomorrow at the Carr Racop Invitational, first at 11:30 a.m. against Arkansas-Fort Smith, and then at 4:30 p.m. against Northwest Missouri.
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